Kate Winslet Denies Rumors of Post-‘Titanic’ Feud with James Cameron: It Was ‘Stupid, Speculative Stuff’
Samantha Bergeson
Kate Winslet wants to sink the feud rumors with James Cameron once and for all.
The Oscar winner told Variety that the discussions surrounding the tough 1997 “Titanic” production “overshadowed” her working relationship with Cameron at the time. The duo later reunited for 2022 film “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
“There’s a part of me that feels almost sad that stupid, speculative ‘Titanic’ stuff at the time overshadowed the actual relationship I have with him,” Winslet said. “He knows I will be up for anything. Any challenge, any piece of direction you give me? I’ll try it.”
Cameron confirmed that there was “never a rift between us.” He added that Winslet had a special relationship to her “Titanic” character even before being cast in the role.
“She even sent me a single rose and said, ‘I have to be your Rose,’” Cameron said, adding that after Winslet had starred in “Sense and Sensibility,” “Jude,” and “Hamlet,” he was hesitant to cast her in yet another period film.
“It seemed like lazy casting,” Cameron said. “But then wiser heads prevailed, and I could see what everybody was talking about. She’s very alive. She comes into a room with a great deal of confidence, and she’s got that spark of life.”
After wrapping “Titanic,” Cameron shared that Winslet confided in him.
“She had a little postpartum depression when she let go of Rose,” Cameron said. “She and I have talked about the fact that she goes really, really deep, and her characters leave a lasting, sometimes dramatic impression on her.”
Cameron still admires Winslet’s determination as an actress.
“It’s all mental. It’s not physical,” he said of her performances in the two films they have collaborated on. “Kate and Sigourney [Weaver] as well — these are strong-willed people that have mastery over their complete instrument, their mind, their voice, their body, everything. And what makes them a good actor also made them good at learning how to free dive.”
Winslet previously told Net-A-Porter that the blockbuster release of “Titanic” had its downsides.
“I felt like I had to look a certain way, or be a certain thing, and because media intrusion was so significant at that time, my life was quite unpleasant,” Winslet said. “Journalists would always say, ‘After ‘Titanic,’ you could have done anything and yet you chose to do these small things. And I was like, ‘Yeah, you bet your fucking life I did! Because, guess what, being famous was horrible.’ I was grateful, of course. I was in my early twenties, and I was able to get a flat. But I didn’t want to be followed literally feeding the ducks.”
She added of the film now, “I wear it really lightly. It’s not a burden, any of it. [‘Titanic’] continues to bring people huge amounts of joy. The only time I am like, ‘Oh god, hide’, is if we are on a boat somewhere.”
